Who we Are
by Rose Duchess
Summary: What if Ino was a member of Team 7? How would she try to save Sasuke? Would she still have feelings for him or find another love? Shikaino Naruhina Narusasu/friendship
1. Prologue

**This story was originally done by DistantSong and myself, but due to some cicumstances, DistantSong gave me the story to finish as my own. This part was originally DistantSong's but said I could keep it. I only proofread this part, I hope you enjoy this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

Prologue

He knew she would come.

In fact, he was surprised she didn't come to stop him when he was still at his house. Hn. Silly girl. It seems like he really did sometimes underestimate her. She was far more stupid than he thought, wandering the streets all alone when there are people who could easily kill her. Silly, girl, annoying as always. But still, she was out of Sakura's league when it came to bothering him. She was easier to take, far more mature when you look at her from another angle. She was – to Sasuke's utmost surprise – emotionally stronger than her pink haired friend. The blonde Yamanaka who seemed so shallow and stupid, was actually the one who didn't live to his expectations, in a good way. So maybe, he wasn't really that surprised to see her standing there. Ino, who took this as her task,– and he of all people knew how determined she was, even willing to die so her goal can be accomplished, or willing to die trying to accomplish it – her mission, to bring him home. To make him stay.

Uchiha Sasuke smiled, lightly, as that thought crossed his mind.

Ino…if only she knew.

He stopped, in front of her, not even two steps away. She studied his face for a moment, cold as always, so cold that it didn't even bother her, but Sasuke…Sasuke was surprised to see her face.

Ino was at the edge. Verge of crying, he could tell by the tears that danced in her eyes, tears he could see even in the darkness of the night. She was softly chewing the inside of her lower lip, habit she did only when they were losing their battle, or when she was too upset from fighting with her pink haired friend, Sakura. Ino…Ino never did that when it came to him, or Naruto, or even their sensei. Her hair wasn't tied in her usual ponytail, which he came to notice just now, when he actually looked at her, it was falling gracefully over her back, blonde cascade. He couldn't remember the time he saw her without the ponytail, like this was a whole new Ino. He noticed that she wasn't dressed in her usual purple clothes and bandages over her belly. She wore a simple orange shirt and green shorts, the simplest she could find. There was no trace of Ino he saw every day, Ino who cared about her appearance and the way he saw her, the way she presented herself in front of his eyes, this girl he saw here…she was Ino without her mask.

He saw how she took a deep breath, clutching her fists and shaking her head, before she smiled at him, as warmly as she could, like they were here to say a pleasant goodbye, like he won't be her enemy once he walks out of this village, away from her and memories they shared. She smiled as if she was saying that things between them will never change, whatever he chooses to do, whichever path he goes. He was taken aback by her actions, but managed to hide it, always burying things inside himself, leaving that cold mask of his.

He – smirk appeared on his lips – had no time for this. She had to now. He had to let her know, he thought as that smirk spread across his face.

He had to let her know, that once he leaves, nothing will ever be the same.

"What are you doing here?" his voice asked, ringing through the silence, leaving her expression unchanged. "You came to stop me?"

Ino smiled, sadly, with bitterness. "„Iie." she let out, her voice shaking at some points. "I am well aware that nothing I say will ever make you change your mind."

Good, he thought, ready to make his way past her when her voice reached him, far more powerful than a second before:

"You intend to leave…to have your revenge." she began, her voice holding him down in once place, just forcing him to listen her until the end. "I know it's none of my business, it's something I learned through the time I spent with you, that you always wanted me to mind my own businesses and I never listened. But now, I'll listen, and I won't ask you anything about it. It's your choice and you have your reasons, so I am going to respect that. I always should've." she swallowed, almost choking upon her words. Her gaze grew stronger, seemed more powerful on his face. Again, it turned out he was wrong about her. She didn't come to stop him. She has learned from her mistakes. That girl…

"Sasuke-kun" she said, shaking her head. "„Iie. Sasuke." she corrected herself, making his eyes widen slightly, not enough for her to notice, anyway. "I came here to tell you, that, no matter how hard it becomes for me and Naruto, we'll never go awry. We'll fight you, no matter what, for our friends, for Konoha, for you. We'll train. We'll train so hard to become stronger and…once we become stronger, we'll sure bring you back, I promise you that." Tears began to fall down her cheeks and the moment she noticed them, she immediately wiped them away, as if she'll hide her weakness. Sasuke simply watched her, as if he wasn't in wonder.

Yamanaka fought with her tears for a while, but managed to get a hold of herself. "Sasuke…I…"she uttered, clearing her throat. Her voice regained its strength. "believe in you. I always did. I believed…there's a light inside of you, and I swear to you, here, with who I am, that I will bring it back to you. Your light."

He stared at the small girl who stood before him as if she had just said something so normal, something she said every day. She knew he was emotionless, knew he didn't care what she had to say, but she promised to herself that she was going to say it. It wasn't a gesture to show him her feelings, no; it was something she said to him as her friend, her teammate. Her brother. Ino knew he never liked her, in fact, Ino knew every feeling he ever felt for her was nothing but annoyance and anger. Of course, they were teammates, he was supposed to care for her in a way he did, like a teammate, not friend or anything else. He made it clear in the very beginning, but she was too blindfolded to notice. She was silly, stupid, and yet, she never came to regret her feelings, only her actions that sometimes went over the limit. She wished she could change some things she did now and then, maybe even some things she said, but she didn't wish to change her feelings for this boy who stood before her. For Yamanaka Ino believed that those feelings were exactly what made her stronger.

Sasuke simply couldn't avert his gaze away from her face. Not because she was crying or anything similar, he was just…He couldn't recall a moment someone said something like that to him. So sincere, so…stupid, he didn't need her silly words or her silly promises. All he wanted was to simply leave, not caring for her or anyone else. He was alone his whole life. He didn't need her or anyone else. He didn't. He just didn't. Not her. Not Naruto. Not her.

Hah…light inside him. No. She was talking nonsense, what did she know, anyway? She was just another girl who fancied him, being plainly annoying. This was just a proof. She didn't know him. Not at all…

He passed her by.

She stood there, still as a stone, determined not to break. He could feel it, but he didn't care. She sobbed and he knew she was shaking, but he simply didn't care. Sasuke made his way down the street, blocking the memories that simply popped in his head with every step he took. It was because of her stupid words, he assured himself. He tried to assure himself…

Uchiha Sasuke stopped. At the very end of his path he stopped, staring at the ground.

She was still there, wasn't crying, but he knew she was there. He could hear her breathing. Shallow. And upset.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw her standing there. Shaking. Ino…

"Your loyalty to your…friends, goes that far that you're willing to risk your own life for them?" he asked. Ino stirred for a second, and then turned, swiftly, to face him.

"Hai, Sasuke." she nodded, seeming as if she expected something like that from him, such words. She knew that once he leaves he won't ever stop to think twice when it comes to killing her, or anyone else. "I consider you my friend, even if you would never say the same thing for me. Since I consider you a friend, I would fail miserably at fulfilling my role if I wasn't ready for something like that to save you, or anyone else. I would be ashamed…"

"Nonsense," he thought, as he turned fully towards her.

"Then, be ready, I have chosen this path, Ino. There is no light for me. And I would fail miserably," he said, with mock in his voice. "At fulfilling my destiny if I wouldn't fight any of you who dare to step on my way. It goes for you, and everyone else who dares to do so." He turned his back on her, staring at the way before him. "Do not ever feel special, because I won't spare you. Not you or Naruto."

"I know," Ino whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her. But, she was wrong. Sasuke heard her, even though he was far away, still leaving, he heard her; and whispered into the wind, "I hope you'll never know."

Uchiha Sasuke left the village on that same night, leaving everyone behind. Yamanaka Ino spent that night wandering the streets of Konoha, until she found her way home.

Her eyes shot open in a second, as she sat up, looking at the picture that still rested on her commode even after four years.

"Sasuke…" sixteen year old Ino Yamanaka whispered into the night.

**Well here is the first part, I hope you like it. Please feel free to leave a review if you want to. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 1: Memories and Regrets

**Here is the first chapter of the story, I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

It has been four years since Sasuke had defected from the village. She had trained hard, trained until the day came where she and Naruto had to fight Sasuke to bring him back home. Naruto had taken up the offer with Lord Jiraiya to train with him for the past few years and she hasn't seen him since then.

She was just walking around the village and thought about the dream of the memory of that night. "I wonder if we'll be able to bring him back. It was a big thing to claim, and knowing Sasuke, he won't come back without a fight," She then shook her head, trying to reassure herself, she had trained for that day and she was not going to turn back on it. She still cared about him, but as her teammate and friend because she knew that he never cared at all. All he wanted was revenge and power, so she knew that she couldn't stop him that night even if she tried. She had to admit that it was hard to try to get over that she just let him go, but she had Naruto's support because he was always a good friend, and she found comfort in her friends, Shikamaru, Choji and her best friend Sakura.

Sakura had also needed comforting for Sasuke leaving, because she had also loved Sasuke as well, she still loves him actually. She was upset that Ino didn't stop Sasuke but she came to understand why she did it. So their bond of friendship had become stronger because of it. Ino even spent some time with Shikamaru and Choji, because all three knew each other since they were kids. When she was particularly sad, after what had happened, she was surprised that Shikamaru came to her himself to comfort her. He even awkwardly embraced her so that she could cry her heart out until she was finished. After that, she became closer to him and she even trained along with him and Choji. As she mulled these memories of Shikamaru over, she thought, "When I first met him, I thought he was lazy, unmotivated, and such a pain when he deemed things troublesome. But when I look back on it, he can be so sweet when he wants to be. I'm glad that I met him when I needed a friend." She even recalled a moment where she had to offer him her comfort.

Flashback (Ino's POV)

I had heard about what happened to the Sasuke Retrieval Team from Naruto after I went to see him. He made a promise to bring Sasuke back no matter what because he was our teammate and I appreciated his resolve to save our friend. Then I told him what I told Sasuke last night and he agreed with what I said, that I did what I felt was right. Then I asked, "How are the others?" he turned to me and replied, "Kiba, Akamaru, Choji, and Neji were severely injured, but Shikamaru only has a broken finger. From what Shikamaru told me, Choji and Neji would have been dead if they didn't treat them in time. I'm really glad that they are alive, I hate to think what would have happened if they didn't survive." I felt so guilty that my own teammate, my two childhood friends, Kiba, Akamaru and Neji could have been killed because I didn't stop Sasuke. "Shikamaru seemed really worried when Choji was in intensive care but he looked like his usual self when he came by," Naruto added, interrupting her thoughts.

I winced at that, "Is he okay?" I asked genuinely worried. I saw Naruto shrug his shoulders, "He didn't show it but I could tell that this mission shook him. Maybe you could talk to him? You knew him when you two were little right? So you probably know him better than I do." I contemplated that, "Sure, maybe I can help him like he helped me. Where did he say he was going?"

Naruto answered, "He said he was escorting the sand siblings to the gate to see them off." I immediately took off after he said where he was. I don't know what drove me to do it, but I just kept running to where Shikamaru was until I saw him seeing the sand siblings off. "Hey, Shikamaru!" I saw him turn around and he put his hands in his pockets and he said, "Ino, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you when I heard about Choji's condition. Could we talk?" I saw he looked a bit uncomfortable but he said, "Sure." So we walked to his favorite cloud-watching spot and we sat on the bench. I thought that the silence between us was a bit awkward so I asked, "Are you okay, Shikamaru? I know we haven't talked in a while but could you tell me if you are okay? And I don't mean physically." I looked at him and I noticed that he flinched at my question, I was about to ask again when he suddenly said, "I feel horrible. I was put in charge of four people and a dog, and they could have died in this mission. It was my fault that they nearly died, I'm relieved that all of them are alive but that still doesn't erase my guilt." I saw he was shaking his fists almost trying to control his emotions, I've never seen him so broken in my life even when we were little.

"That's why, the next mission I'm assigned to will be perfect no matter what, because I don't want anything to happen to my friends. I will be better to protect them, and I'm not running away this time." Shikamaru added, though I heard his voice faltering almost like he couldn't hold his emotions anymore. I couldn't help but smile sadly at him, he looked like he needed to vent but he still won't let his tears flow. Then, something compelled me to envelop him in a hug, I felt him flinch but I offered comforting words to him, "It's alright Shikamaru; you don't have to hide your emotions from me. You helped me with my problems, now let me help you, just let it out." At first, I didn't get a response, but then he hugged me back, burying his face in my neck, quietly crying as his tears ran down my back. I also remember crying with him and we stayed like that until it was nearly evening.

End Flashback (End Ino's POV)

After that experience, the two were close where she would join them on their weekly dinners and train with them. She smiled because she was glad that she made long lasting friends in them and in Naruto as well. She thought of the blond shinobi she formerly dubbed the "dead-last" who is now one of her closest friends, "_I wonder how he is doing_."

Unbeknownst to her there were two people who had just entered the village gate, one with long, white hair and is slightly taller. The other wore an orange and black jump suit, had blond hair, expressive blue eyes, and a wide smile. Then he thought to himself, "_I'm finally home_."

**Well, this is the first chapter, please let me know what you think. So feel free to leave a review. Also, I hope along with others that Shikamaru will survive. **


	3. Chapter 2: Reunion

**Here is Chapter 2. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

"Ino-nee chan!" some people called out her name. She turned around and saw Konohamaru and his teammates Moegi and Udon. "Konohamaru, how are you and your friends?" Ino cheerfully asked.

"We're fine, only I wish we had a different mission than finding a lost cat," Konohamaru complained.

That brought a smile to her face it just brought back memories of her and her team taking on that same mission with Naruto and Sasuke. So to ease the young Genin's frustration, she replied, "We had that same mission, it is very nostalgic actually. We all complained about it too, but soon after we got a difficult mission that proved to be more difficult than we expected. So don't worry, your team will get a difficult mission soon. You just have to be patient."

Konohamaru smiled up at her and then he asked, "So, what are you doing?"

"I have to pick up a report for Lady Tsunade, so I'm heading to the gate now. Would you three like to join me?" she asked the young genin.

All three chimed together, "Sure,"

So they all walked to the village gate, while two who had just entered the village were unknowingly walking in a different direction than Ino and the others. The younger of the two said, "It has been four years since we have been in Konoha." While the other replied, "It has hasn't it?"

When they reached the gate, Ino asked Kotetsu and Izumo, "Hi Kotestu-senpai and Izumo-senpai, do you have the report for Tsunade?"

"Yes, we do. By the way, you should look around on your way back to the Hokage Tower." Kotetsu said. While Izumo added, "You might find something interesting." They both smiled at the confused Chūnin and three Genin.

Then Ino suddenly realized what they meant, "Could it be?" She quickly took the report and ran back into the village with the three Genin tailing her.

While in on area of the village, a young man wearing an orange track suit ran up a pole, happily shouting, "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit!" He looked up at the Hokage Monument and noticed that it slightly changed he exclaimed, "Oh, they added Tsunade-baa chan's face to the Monument. Konoha, hear me now, Naruto Uzumaki has returned!"

Ino had been running until she saw Naruto on top of the pole with Lord Jiraiya at the base of it. She called out to him, "Naruto, is that you?" Naruto noticed her and came down instantly to greet her. "Hey Ino, it's been a long time."

She replied, "Yeah, it has." Then she was looking him over and said, "Hey Naruto, I think you are taller than me now."

"Really?" Naruto said as he was comparing their heights. "I guess you're right," he added happily.

"He's grown so much, it's kind of hard to believe," Ino thought to herself. While she asked out loud, "So do you think I look more mature now?"

Naruto then replied, "Don't worry I think you have grown a lot but you are still the same to me."

Ino was a bit unnerved that he said that but she silently thought, "Oh well, I guess I should have expected that from him, but I know he means well."

"Naruto-nii chan!" Konohamaru shouted happily and he did a new "Sexy" Jutsu to Naruto and asked," What do you think?" when he dispelled it. Ino was a bit disturbed by it but she was a bit surprised when he started to chuckle.

"Konohamaru, I'm older now and I don't do that kind of jutsu anymore. You must learn different jutsus than that." Naruto told the younger Genin.

Ino was impressed, "He must have grown up while he was training. I've never seen him so serious." But that impression was shattered when he suddenly exclaimed, "So now I'm going to show you a new Sexy jutsu that you'll be impressed by."

That ticked her off and she punched him in the stomach but not before shouting, "You idiot! I was about to praise you and you come up with another one of your stupid jutsus."

She kept on shouting at him to grow up while he held his stomach in pain and silently noted, "It was just as I thought, Ino is the same as she always was but at least she doesn't hit too hard."

Then she, Naruto and Lord Jiraiya went up to the Hokage Tower to report to Lady Tsunade. They went in her office where she greeted Naruto, "Welcome home, Naruto." Then she turned to Jiraiya and said, "I take it that his training went well, Jiraiya?"

"Of course, it did. What do you think I haven't helped him improve?" Jiraiya asked acting offended.

"That's good, I would like to put Naruto's skills to the test, you will be fighting an opponent that hasn't been on missions lately so you'll display how much stronger you have gotten against him," she said just as they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Tsunade said. Then a lazy voice drawled, "Hey."

There was a young man of about sixteen with black hair tied in a ponytail, brown narrow eyes, and a lazy expression on his face. He was wearing a green flak jacket with a black shirt with matching black pants. Next to him, was a young woman who had her blond hair tied in four ponytails, a black forehead protector, and wore a black dress with a red sash. On her back, she had a big fan strapped to her.

Ino and Naruto turned around to them and Ino called out to them, "Hey Shikamaru, Temari-san, can you two guess who this is?" She pointed to Naruto as she asked them which made Shikamaru look at him curiously.

"Naruto? Hey, it is Naruto isn't it?" he said with a smirk.

Naruto smiled and exclaimed, "Shikamaru."

"It's been a long time, when did you get back?" Shikamaru asked his friend.

"Just a while ago," Naruto explained.

Shikamaru looked him over before saying, "There is something different about you, did you grow up or something?"

"No, he is the same as before." Ino pointed out Naruto's lack of maturity.

"Oh, just as I thought," Shikamaru said in a somewhat teasing voice.

"Ino," Naruto said in an exasperated voice. Until he suddenly said, "So wait, is Shikamaru my opponent?"

"What are you talking about? I'm just here to report to Lady Tsunade with this lady accompanying me," Shikamaru explained as he gestured towards Temari with his eyes.

Naruto looked over at her but got a look of confusion on his face before asking, "Who are you again?"

Temari retorted, "You don't remember me?" She sounded like she was a bit offended.

"Naruto, Shikamaru isn't your opponent. Your opponent is out there." Tsunade interrupted while pointing out the window.

Naruto went towards the window, opened it, and heard a voice say, "It's been a while, you have grown."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily. He jumped on the roof of the building to greet his teacher and said to him "It's great to see you again, Sensei. You haven't changed much at all. Oh, that's right, I have something for you."

Naruto pulled something out of his back pouch and held it out to him which made Kakashi exclaim, "What?! This is… is"

The item that was in Naruto's hand, turned out to be a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, which made Naruto say, "It's a new book that is the first publication of the Icha Icha Paradise in four years. It's boring, but you like that kind of book don't you Sensei?"

Kakashi had been excited to read it until Tsunade said, "Okay, enough fooling around, Kakashi."

So he closed the book and came to the window and said to Ino, "It's been a while since I've seen you as well Ino."

"Yeah, it has Sensei," she replied

"So Kakashi-sensei is my opponent," Naruto spoke out.

But Kakashi replied, "Well, not exactly. I will be fighting both of you, Naruto and Ino." He gestured to the both of them. He continued, "You will fight against me and I shall test how much the both of you have grown these past four years. We will meet in training ground seven but since you must be tired, Naruto, I'll give you time to rest up. See ya."

With that, he just disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I wonder why he went away so quickly," Ino said sarcastically, not expecting an answer.

"He's going to read that book," Shikamaru replied.

Ino turned to look at him, which Shikamaru turned away from her quickly, but he then said, "As if we all didn't know that, Ino," He had a little smirk on his lips as he directly gave that smirk in her direction.

Ino giggled to herself, "_He always knew how to make me laugh_."

Later on, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru and Temari had walked out of the Hokage Tower while Naruto complained, "He really hasn't changed at all, and I'm not even tired. Couldn't he have just read that book later?"

Ino answered back sympathetically, "Well, you know that's how he is, Naruto. Don't complain too much."

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, I know." Until he looked at how Shikamaru and Temari were behind them, he asked impishly, "Hey, Shikamaru, are you two on a date?' he didn't notice that Ino flinched when he asked.

Lately, she was puzzled about her sudden peeve of Shikamaru being in a relationship with Temari. Personally, Ino respects Temari as a strong and capable kunoichi, but she suddenly gets angry if she had to follow Shikamaru around.

"It's not like that," Shikamaru answered. This made Ino sigh out in relief, although she had no idea why.

"Hmph, like I would ever go out with someone like him," Temari said in response to that. Somehow, Ino seemed to be offended for Shikamaru, "_What's wrong with going out with him? Shikamaru is a good guy_."

Ino was brought out of her thoughts when Temari continued, "The Chūnin exams are coming up and I'm acting as the Sand Ambassador which takes me to and from Suna and Konoha."

Shikamaru added, "It's troublesome, but I'm acting as a proctor for the exam and I have to be this lady's escort."

"The Chūnin exams, huh? That brings back memories," Naruto reflected.

"Oh, that's right. What are you going to do, Naruto," Shikamaru asked him.

"About what?' Naruto asked, confused about the question.

"What do you mean, what? It's about the Chūnin exam, you are the only one in our age group who isn't a Chūnin," Shikamaru explained.

Naruto had a blank look on his face before he shouted, "What?!" He looked over at Ino and asked, "Then, you are a Chūnin too, Ino?"

Ino smiled and said, "Yes, I am."

Shikamaru also added, "Not only that, but Neji, Kankuro and this lady are Jonin now." He pointed to Temari to prove his point.

Then Naruto suddenly asked, "What about Gaara?"

Meanwhile in Suna, a messenger came out to a balcony to call to someone standing out there, "Kazekage-sama, the meeting is about to start."

The one standing on the balcony, had auburn hair, green eyes with black rings around them, a tattoo with the kanji for love on his forehead and was wearing a white cloak. He merely replied quietly, "I'll be there shortly."

Back in Konoha, when Naruto heard about Gaara's new title he suddenly became quiet. But then he exclaimed, "Just wait Gaara, just as you have become Kazekage, I'll become a great Hokage soon. Just watch me."

Shikamaru smirked, Temari smiled, and Ino looked at her teammate with admiration, commenting in her thoughts, "_Maybe you have grown up a bit, Naruto_."

**Well that is chapter 2, please feel free to leave a review. I hope that you liked it.**


	4. Chapter 3: Battles

**Well, I finally updated. I hope you like this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the series, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

Chapter 3: Battles with Teachers and Enemies

An hour later, Ino and Naruto met with Kakashi at Training Ground 7 where they were supposed to start their evaluation, so to speak.

"Training ground 7, this is where we first fought, of course Sasuke was still with us," Kakashi thought out loud.

"_That's right; this is the place where we first fought with Kakashi-Sensei_," Ino thought.

"_That was when Sasuke was still in Team 7_," Naruto thought as well.

Kakashi was still reading his book but when he looked up from it, he saw his two students slumped on the ground, depressed when Sasuke was mentioned.

Kakashi thought to himself exasperatedly, "_Obviously, Sasuke's name is taboo with these two_."

He closed his book and put it in his pouch before addressing his two students, "Now that we are here, I will tell you what we will do so I can test you."

He pulled out two small silver bells on red string as he continued, "I shall evaluate your skills by issuing the bell test. If both of you can successfully take a bell from me by dawn tomorrow, I can acknowledge that you have gotten stronger."

Ino and Naruto looked determinedly at their teacher as they listened to his instructions.

Then Naruto, as impatient as ever, tried to take a bell from Kakashi before he came up from behind him with a kunai at the base of his neck.

"Nice try Naruto, but I haven't said "go" yet." Kakashi amusedly told him.

"Don't be so sure, Sensei." Naruto smirked up at him.

Kakashi then felt a presence behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Naruto's shadow clone with a shuriken at his back.

"It appears that you have gotten better, well now it's best that we start. Ready, Go!" Kakashi shouted before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Oh, I could have gotten him already!" Naruto sulked.

"Well, if you weren't impatient, we could have caught him when he said to go," Ino retorted.

So then they proceeded to try to seek him out in the training ground and they were fully prepared this time.

Meanwhile in Suna…

After the meeting with the council, Gaara was in his office filling out paperwork and it all seemed quiet as he looked out the window to look at the sky. He had a contemplative look on his face as he watched a strange bird flying through the air.

Up above Suna…

"Well this village is very scenic, a work of art. But my art, is a bang," a blonde-haired man said silently to himself.

He put his hand in one of his bags and pulled out some clay figures made to look like spiders and sent them out to the guards that were guarding Gaara. By bang, he really meant it; as the small clay spiders exploded on the guards.

Then the man landed on the balcony of the Kazekage's office only to find Gaara waiting for him as if expecting him.

With a smirk, the young man addressed him "How did you know I would come after you?"

Gaara stoically replied, "There are no such birds in this village. State your name and business for taking out my guards."

The young man replied, "I'm Deidara of the Akatsuki and I came to capture you for the one-tails."

"As long as I'm Kazekage, you will not threaten this village and I won't go down so easily if you plan to capture me."

"Have it your way, Kazekage-sama,"Deidara replied mockingly.

Then they had engaged in an aerial battle; Gaara on a cloud of sand and Deidara on his clay bird just throwing his bombs at Gaara, trying to make him lose his momentum.

Outside of the village, a strange figure was watching as the battle was taking place in the sky.

"Deidara better had not waste my time he knows how I hate waiting," an eerie voice said to himself.

Back in Konoha…

Ino and Naruto were very exhausted and it was already late in the night. They had a great start by Ino sensing him out underground and they tried various tactics to get the upper hand but so far they couldn't get to him.

"I didn't think it would be this tough, but he must be exhausted since he used the sharingan a lot. We just need to try to find a way to get those bells, otherwise, we'll be here until dawn," Ino said to Naruto.

Naruto replied, "I know but you know how Kakashi is; he is as smart as Shikamaru, has a better sense of smell than Kiba, and just as strong as Chouji."

"That's true but he must have a weakness, so we have to think what that might be," Ino replied.

So they sat there trying to figure out their teacher's weakness until Naruto realized, "Wait, I've got it, his weakness."

Naruto then whispered to Ino about his plan and Ino honestly exclaimed, "Nothing less from the most unpredictable ninja of Konoha."

Then they went out to find Kakashi who was hiding behind a tree with his hitai-ate adjusted to reveal his Sharingan eye.

He thought to himself, "_It's been quiet; they might be trying to plan a sneak attack on me. They really wore me out that I had to use my Sharingan several times_."

Then he suddenly heard rustling from behind and he saw as his students came to attack him, he sadi to them, "That won't work, you two."

But he was took by surprise when he heard Naruto shout, "Hey Kakashi-Sensei, you know in the Icha Icha Paradise, what really happens in the end is…"

"_No! Spoilers!_" Kakashi shouted in his head as he covered his ears to block out Naruto's voice. But as he watched Naruto, he added, "_No, I can still read his lips!_"

To not read his lips, he shut his eyes tightly but then the next thing he knew, his two students were smiling at him, with one bell in their hands, leading him to check that the bells were missing from his waist.

Wearily, Kakashi admitted defeat by saying, "You got me."

He continued while pulling his book out, "I should have just read the whole book beforehand."

"You know Kakashi-Sensei, it's a wonder you like those books at all when I couldn't even get through the first ten pages," Naruto said to his bemused teacher.

Kakashi had a shocked look on his face as he said, "You mean that it was a.."

"Even though Naruto had never read the whole book, we figured that you would react to just the content of the book. It was a clever trick, don't you think, Sensei?" Ino asked cheerfully.

Kakashi had his head slumped but he admitted, "_It was clever of Naruto, I'll give him that_."

"You two have done well," a voice said from behind them.

They all turned around to see Lady Tsunade approaching them. Then she continued, "Do you have anything to say, Kakashi?"

"They worked well together and they got the bells from me," Kakashi admitted to her.

"Then it leads to tell you that since you got the bells from Kakashi and can work well together, you two and Kakashi shall be part of Team Kakashi," Tsunade explained.

She continued, "So tomorrow morning, report to the Hokage tower to receive your first mission as Team Kakashi."

After that, they had walked together mostly until they split up Naruto went to get ramen and Ino was at a dango shop, having dango and tea.

"What are you doing out so late?" a voice said from behind her.

She looked up to see Shikamaru and she smiled as she retorted, "I could ask you the same thing, it's half past 11,"

He shrugged as he sat next to her and replied, "Your mother asked me to look for you because she was worried when you didn't return home yet. I looked for over two hours until I found you here."

"She knows that I can take care of myself, she doesn't need to worry," Ino replied.

"She knows, but she is your mother, she'll worry anyway." Shikamaru reasoned.

Ino finished her dango while she shared some with him and she was about to pay but he insisted that he'll pay it.

"You didn't have to pay for something I ate, Shikamaru," Ino said to him after they got outside of the shop.

"I wanted to, so don't worry about it. I can walk you home or are you okay?" he asked.

Ino looked at Shikamaru while thinking of his offer, then she answered, "Okay, you can walk me home."

So they set out to Ino's house at the flower shop, they were just walking and she did most of the talking of how they tricked Kakashi to get the bells. That earned a little chuckle from Shikamaru while he added his own thoughts in their conversation until they reached her house.

"Well, thanks for walking me home and… wait." Ino paused.

She continued, "You were out for two hours looking for me? If I know you and I do, you would have been asleep by now."

Shikamaru was a little unnerved by her reasoning and he had a light blush on his cheeks.

Ino then asked, "Shikamaru, were you looking for me because you were worried about me?"

Shikamaru's face grew redder as he scratched the back of his neck when he mumbled, "Can't a guy be concerned for one of his best friends?"

Ino smiled at him and before she knew what she was doing, she looked at him saying, "Shika?"

"What?" he asked.

As an answer, she cupped his face with one hand and she kissed his left cheek and whispered in his ear, "Thanks for worrying about me. Good night, Shika."

She then quickly went inside her house so that he wouldn't see her red face, thinking to herself, "_I don't even know why I did that, but it felt nice_." She had a small smile on her face as she went to her room.

Unknowingly to Ino, Shikamaru was just as red, stunned about what just happened. He touched where she kissed him and subconsciously had this smile on his face. He looked to see that she got in her room okay and he silently said, "Good night, Ino," before going home himself.

In Suna, things were looking bleak,

Gaara had just been using the last of his strength to move the sand barrier he created to protect the village from one of Deidara's bombs away from the village so it wouldn't get damaged. When he successfully moved the sand, he slipped into unconsciousness and was falling to the ground.

Kankurou shouted, "Gaara!" as he watched his little brother fall but then was surprised that Deidara caught him and was taking him out of the village.

Kankurou, getting upset, he took off after them while Baji was shouting, "Don't do anything rash, Kankurou!"

"Like I'll just let them take my brother, I have to get him back!" Kankurou shouted clearly angry as he pursued them.

Then he reached the village opening but noticed there was something wrong, that it was too quiet as he heard some other shinobi came to join in his pursuit. They went through the crevice only to find many of the patrol were killed but it seemed like one person was alive.

One shinobi tried to help him but Kankurou shouted, "No, don't move him!"

But it was too late, there was an explosive tag on the shinobi and it exploded, causing the walls of the crevice to cave in on them.

Then Baji and others had gone to help them but were shocked to see the rocks caving in the crevice but then were relieved to see Kankurou emerge from the rubble with two shinobi unconscious.

"I could only save two, get them medical treatment, I'm going after Gaara!" Kankurou said before he took off to track them.

As he went into the desert, he saw that Deidara and his partner were covering their tracks but Kankurou looked on the ground and took some of Gaara's sand that was leaving a trail.

Determined, he started sprinting after the trail of his brother's sand saying, "_Hang on, Gaara_."

**Well, that is it for this chapter. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 4: Rescue Mission

**Here is the next chapter. I hope you all like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

The next morning, only two members had shown up on time with their Jounin sensei late as usual.

"Jeez, doesn't he even make an effort to get out of bed in the morning?" said an impatient Naruto.

"Even after four years, he still makes us wait," Ino agreed.

Then they saw as their sluggishly walked up to them, unknown to them that he had read his whole book twice in one night.

Naruto pointed an accusing finger to him, yelling, "You're late, Sensei!"

Kakashi waved his hand apologetically to tham as he replied, "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night and I was late filling in the new teams and…"

"Yeah, right I bet you were reading that book all night, Kakashi Sensei," Ino retaliated.

Kakashi replied, "Well, anyway I'm here now and we should get our mission. Then we…"

He paused as he looked overhead; up in the sky he watched as a messenger hawk flew by, flying towards the Hokage Tower.

"_That looked like it was flying from Suna, I wonder what happened._" Kakashi thought to himself.

At the Hokage Tower where they keep the messenger birds, they saw Suna's fastest messenger hawk, Takamaru on the railing with a message on his back.

They immediately took the message off of his back and released the seal on it.

"This is a coded message, we need someone from the cryptology department," someone told the other to get a decoder in there.

Inside the Hokage Tower, we find Team Kakashi headed in to be briefed on their misson, while Naruto exclaimed, "It's been so long since I've been on a mission, I wonder if we get a high-rank mission like B-class."

"Don't get your hopes up Naruto, you just returned home. Just please don't sulk if it isn't one you were hoping for," Ino replied.

Then, a woman ahead of them ran past them shouting, "Out of my way!" as she ran down the hall.

"I wonder what happened if a decoder was needed here," Kakashi contemplated silently.

Then they came into the room to get their mission, as they entered, Tsunade and Iruka were there to hand them their mission briefing.

Tsunade started by saying, "Team Kakashi, I have a C-rank mission for you to escort some merchants to port and they.."

But Naruto cut her off by shouting, "Tsunade-baa chan! I don't want that kind of mission where we just escort merchants. Don't you have anything better than…OW!"

Ino had tugged on his ear trying to shut him up, then silently said in his ear, "Naruto, shut up! You don't know how she can be when she gets angry."

"Naruto, we have to do our mission, even if we don't like it. You know that, don't you?" Kakashi asked him.

Grudgingly he replied, "Yes, but still isn't there any mission that I can prove how strong I've gotten? I mean I.."

Behind them, the door opened with an echoing crash, the same decoder woman they saw earlier shouted, "Tsunade-sama, a secret message from Suna!"

"What is it that is so important that you interrupt me during a mission briefing?" Tsunade asked, irritated by the interruption.

The woman answered, "Suna had sent an urgent message, requesting assistance from Konoha. The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara had been kidnapped last night."

There was sudden silence at the announcement and Tsunade sat there with her hands in front of her, fingers intertwined.

The she addressed Team Kakashi, "Team Kakashi here is your new mission, go to Suna to help rescue the Kazekage. This is an A-rank mission, do you accept?"

Team Kakashi answered, "We accept."

"Then prepare to leave immediately and I shall have one other person go with you that will benefit from this mission," Tsunade replied.

They bowed and departed to prepare for three days travel to Suna.

Meanwhile in Suna.

Kankuro had finally caught up with Gaara's captors and shouted, "Give Gaara back!"

Then he immediately brought out his puppets out of his scrolls and got into position to fight. Then Deidara and the strange figure turned around to face Kankuro with his three puppets, Black Ant, Crow, and Salamander.

"Those three, huh?" the eerie voice said more to himself than to his partner.

Then he continued, "Deidara, go on ahead, I'll catch up with you."

Deidara had an amused smirk on his face and asked, "Are you sure? I know you don't like to be kept waiting or to keep people waiting."

"I'll make this quick. Just go on ahead." Deidara's partner replied.

"Well, I'll leave it to you then, hm," Deidara replied as he got on his clay bird and took off away from the two.

"I won't let you get away!" Kankuro shouted.

He lead Crow to attack Deidara until suddenly, a large scorpion-like tail deflected the attack. Kankuro was surprised that his attack didn't even faze the other person.

"I'm your opponent; don't make me wait for you to attack." He said as he was waving the tail-like appendage.

"Fine." Kankuro replied and got ready to attack.

Back in Konoha

Team Kakashi were ready to go, they just had to wait for that one other person. Naruto was getting impatient though, showing his impatience by pacing back and forth.

"Naruto calm down, it won't do any good if we rush into things," Kakashi said to his impatient student.

Then they heard someone shout, "Sorry, to keep you waiting."

The other person that Tsunade had in mind was her own apprentice, Sakura Haruno. She had a smile on her face and waved to both Ino and Naruto.

Then Sakura said, "Long time no see, Naruto you really have grown a lot."

"No way, you're coming with us too, Sakura-chan?" Naruto exclaimed happily.

Sakura nodded then replied, "Yes, Shisou had told me that your team could use one other medic-nin and I can get more experience. I hope you don't mind me tagging along, Ino."

Ino smiled, shook her head and said, "Don't be silly, of course I don't mind. This just means I can try to beat you at your own medical skills, Billboard-Brow."

Sakura flinched and retorted, "Oh, is that so? Then bring it on, Ino-pig."

Ino and Sakura were glaring at each other and they were causing the only males of the group to cringe and step back in fear.

"So they are still at it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked silently.

Kakashi answered, "Apparently."

"Anyway, we better get going before we lose any chance of rescuing the Kazekage from the Akatuski," Kakashi interrupted the girl's glaring contest.

He continued, "But first, I need a word with you Naruto."

Naruto nodded but was confused so they went a little distance from the girls and they talked.

Then Sakura suddenly exclaimed, "Oh right, Ino I have something for you."

She pulled out a bento box wrapped in a blue handkerchief out of her pouch and handed it to Ino.

Confused, she held it in her hands and asked, "You made me a lunch? I know that you are better at making antidote than food, Billboard-Brow."

Sakura's eye twitched before she explained, "I didn't make it; someone asked me to give it to you."

"Really, who was it?" Ino asked.

"Sorry, it's a secret, but I can tell he was embarrassed about it." Sakura playfully replied, winking her eye.

Ino gave her an annoyed look and gazed down at the bento box, then she saw underneath the knot was a little folded note. She took it out and unfolded it to read it and instantly she smiled.

On the note it said,

_Ino,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't give this to you myself, but I had something to prepare for in the exams this morning. It has your favorite food in it and I hope you like it. Though, I don't know if it turned out good at all. Good luck in your mission and be careful._

_Shikamaru._

"_He is so sweet_," Ino thought to herself with a big smile.

She folded the note, put it in her pouch, and carefully put the bento box in her pouch too.

Then she heard Kakashi say, "Okay, let's go everyone!"

They all replied, "Alright!"

Then they all took off for Suna, but little did they know, Kankuro was in a bad state.

In the desert,

Kankuro lay on the ground wounded and his puppets damaged, he was only able to secure a piece of cloth from the Akatsuki member's mask.

"I have kept Deidara waiting long enough; I won't kill you right away. You have only three days when the poison flows throughout your system and then you will die anyway." He said to Kankuro.

Kankuro was feeling numb from the poison, blurring his vision and making him feel unbearable pain.

Slowly, his eyes were drooping as he watched the figure walk away, before losing consciousness, he mumbled, "Gaara…"

**AN: If you have seen the anime, you would probably know how Kankuro's fight went, that's why I didn't include it. Also, I hope you don't mind that I show Sakura early. It's part of my story. Please feel free to review and tell me what you think.**


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